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Citrus Tuiles with Blackberries, Blueberries and Raspberries

Recipe Testers,

I’m working on printing some recipes for mini cookbooks to accompany an upcoming cooking class and thought I’d send this one to all of you. This citrus tuile recipe is one of my signature catering recipes. I love lemon and citrus. These are light and beautiful. The first attached picture was from an SBMA party that was all tray passed hors d’oeuvres and desserts. (I just remembered that I was working on that menu while waiting to go to a lecture with Heath Ledger at the film festival. It was such a great lecture and I felt so lucky to go to it in the small and intimate Lobero Theatre. Stasia asked Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger to sign it. So I’ll attach the copy of the draft menu from that event with their signatures. It is bittersweet to me now because his death was such a loss of great talent.)

Unfortunately, even though they were adorable, the mini citrus tuiles didn’t work that well to be tray passed. They crumbled in the guests’ hands when they took the first bite and we had a mess on the floor. (not something you want in a tray passed hors d’oeuvres) Instead, make them mini as part of a dessert trio on a plate, or make them large as the main plated dessert, just skip the tray passing. I tried to include some pictures. The first are molded in muffin tins. The last, cigar looking rolls, I molded around a wooden spoon handle (those were passionfruit tuiles. I substituted passionfruit juice for the orange juice. Then put orange in place of the lemon juice. I can’t remember what I did about the zest. But I adore passionfruit so these were really yummy) You can also make traditional looking tuiles by molding them around a rolling pin. (google “images of tuiles” if you need to see more) Somewhere I must have some pictures of making them. I just can’t find them quickly. Maybe I’ll take some pictures at the cooking class.

In the recipe below I wrote numerous notes and tips. The biggest one is that I knew the key to tuiles is working quickly to mold them before they harden. But I FORGOT you have to let them set for a minute first. So I felt like a complete failure and it was a disaster as I tried to pick them up and they would bunch up into a mess. Then in frustration, I ate one, and at least it tasted good even though it looked awful. In the time it took me to eat it, the other ones had cooled and set up for just a minute and molded perfectly.

Conversely, if you aren’t working quickly enough and they harden and you can’t bend or manipulate them, you can put them back in the oven and they will soften as they get warm again. They are actually really fun to make.

Also, there are about 23 new people that I added to the recipe testing list, that are now missing. I will spare you my computer mishaps, but I accidentally reset my entire computer. Files were saved and recovered, but I had only backed up outlook after my other computer fiasco in March. (which I’m still grateful for, because otherwise I wouldn’t have made the recovery back-up I just had to use.) So I’m going to try to figure out who is missing and who isn’t. If you receive double copies let me know. Also, there have been accidental deletions from time to time. They are never on purpose. On time I deleted all the R’s, S’s and T’s. They were never completely restored. Sometimes when I’m correcting an e-mail for someone who changed their e-mail I accidentally delete the person above or below that person. (I’m better now about not doing that, once I became aware of my error). I’m sure I’ll eventually get a better system, but right now it is just a group on Outlook. We have 5 computers in the house and I work on three of them. I jump between the PC and the MAC all the time because my desk is an L shape. Some of my mistakes come from trying to do too many things at once and working too quickly. The other problem is that neither address book is completely accurate or updated. I never seem to have enough time to sit and cross-check which is why some of you who have sent me addresses changes three or four times are still having e-mail and snail mail going to your old addresses. (I’m good at some things and wretched at othersJ)

Also, I had to change the format of the ingredients so they work on the blog. Everything is left-justified now and I don’t use symbols or autocorrect for 1/2 and 3/4 because they turn out as squares when opened on various computers. So the format isn’t as pretty or as official looking, but at least the measurements are accurate. Also, thank you to the people who posted their own recipes and responses in the comments part of the blog. That way everyone can access your hints, tips and comments. (http://www.themailifiles.blogspot.com/) I just put the haricot vert salad on the blog a few days ago after editing that. I’ll e-mail it shortly, since I know many of you are not fond of clicking on blogs.

Happy Spring!

Maili

“The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star.” -- Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Citrus Tuiles

Makes 20-30 depending on size

I most commonly mold these in muffin tins to make cups to hold raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. Sometimes I put lemon sorbet in them. They are also lovely just by themselves. The best thing about making them for a party is that they can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container. I put parchment paper in between the layers. They are fragile, so you’ll want to make extra. Of course, when they break you have an excuse to eat the extra broken pieces. One more tip. Be sure to zest the oranges and lemons BEFORE you squeeze them. It’s much easier. The batter freezes very well. So you can whip these up quickly at anytime.1 3/4 cup sugar1 cup unbleached flour1 teaspoon orange zest1 teaspoon lemon zest3/4 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Blackberries, raspberries and blueberries (or fruit of your choice)

1. In the bowl of a kitchenaid mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the sugar and the flour. Turn the mixer on the lowest speed and sprinkle in the lemon and orange zest. Keep the mixer on lows and slowly drizzle in the orange juice and lemon juice until smooth. Then slowly pour in the melted butter. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the batter is completely cool. Refrigerate batter for 1 hour or overnight. (It will also keep well frozen for months!!)

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat non-stick baking sheets (parchment paper could also work, but silpats at the best) You will want to decide if you want large circle for big muffin tins or small circle for mini muffin tins. Or you can mold them around a rolling pin or wooden spoon. You can make them any size you’d like. To begin I’d recommend making them about 3 or 4 inch round. Put about a teaspoon of batter on the silpat. Use an off-set spatula or the back of a spoon and spread the batter very thin to make a circle. Be sure to leave two inches of space in between each tuile because they spread.

3. Bake until they are golden brown all over, about 9 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool one minute. Use spatula or dough scraper or your fingers to transfer them to muffin tins or rolling pin. They will harden within minutes. When cool transfer them to storage box.

4. Plate and fill with berries or sorbet. Or serve as delicate cookies to accompany tea or coffee.

Maili’s Notes: I’d made tons of tuiles working in restaurants, so I wasn’t even worried about making them at home. I knew the key was that you have to mold them quickly before they harden. However, I FORGOT that you have to wait a few seconds though when they first come out to let them set. I kept trying to pick them up right when they came out of the oven and they were a big scrunched up mess. I thought I did something wrong with the batter. Instead it was just that I didn’t have enough patience to let them set up. Conversely, if you let them cool too long and they harden and can’t be molded, you can put them back in the oven to get them hot enough to be pliable again. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll love making them.

Another key note is to use a silpat, off-set spatula and cooking gloves. Gloves are needed so you can mold them while they are hot. You can do a few with your bare hands, but you can do more of them easily with the gloves. I use a microplane for the zest, but it isn’t essential.